Someone to watch over me
by Sailor's Wife
Summary: Daniel is distraught and keeps feeling things, seeing things that are impossible. No one believes him except the woman of his 'dreams'. Tradgedy, hurt, comfort, angst, romance. *Sam/Daniel* T for now, may increase. First few chapters are tragic.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: I own nothing, this is just for fun and my own amusement.**

**Warnings: Not all things are as they seem. A lot of hurt, angst but it gets better and ends in romance. Hints of Sam/Teal'c from their time aboard the Odyssey but it's subtle, this is most definitely a Sam/Daniel story.**

**Life can interfere in a big way around here, while I try to update quickly there can be times where weeks or months go by without an update, I just wanted to warn you 'just in case'.**

…

**Chapter 1:**

Her gut ascended to her throat and her heart pounded loudly as the ground all too rapidly came into focus. Even with dampeners, what she could salvage of the engines, and a prayer to whoever may be watching over her, she was descending too fast.

Her eyes widened as she instinctively braced for impact despite knowing it would do no good; Sam was a physicist after all and knew she wouldn't survive this.

With an Earth-shattering bang and a cringe-worthy sound of twisting metal, her 302 slammed into the ground.

…

Pain. Searing, blinding pain. Everywhere.

Breathing was only an automatic function at that point. All Sam knew was pain. A thousand spiked probes impacted her brain; her body convulsed with electricity and fire, the air in her lungs a toxic acid. This was what she felt. The agonizing torture of Hell for all she failed to do, for all she failed to save, for all the lives she had taken. The fires of Natu were sweet honey compared to her current fate. Heaven had no spot for her after all. The bitterness of it tasted like copper on her tongue.

Copper... Her mind reached out to it, focused on it. Copper. The word, the taste a tantalizing puzzle that teased from the recesses of her mind. Copper. Bitter, like touching your tongue to a battery. Electricity. Energy. _'Where was it?' Where was the thought she needed?_ Life. Blood.

Not copper. Blood. Life… The thought hung in the haze of her mind.

Life.

She was alive.

She grasped at the thought like a buoy in a storm. She was alive! She was breathing. Breathing. _'Breathing was good?' 'Yes. Breathing was good.'_

'_Open your eyes Sam.' 'Sam…' _ Confusion. _'Sam?' ' My name?' 'Yes.' 'Open your eyes.'_

Blurred shapes and colors invaded her mind, along with a reaquantance to the pain in her head. She groaned, the action alerting her to yet more pain, more injury.

Her eyes started to focus. Where was she? And why did she hurt so much?

Taking in the sights around her; twisted metal, broken controls and displays, and occasional sparks at the edge of her vision.

Her sense of smell kicked in; smoke, burning electronics.

One thought entered her mind. _'Get out.'_ The thought consumed her. _'Get out!'_

Despite the protests of her entire body, she began to move. Somewhere in her mind she recognized broken bones; ribs, clavicle, an arm and a leg; a punctured lung and her teeth rattled like they had been shaken loose. All of that was on a subconscious level, the only conscious thought she had was 'get out.'

…


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

…**.**

Daniel groaned. His head hurt and he was freezing. He took in the sight before him. He was in a coffin, a space coffin. Or at least the backseat of a 302 drifting in space felt like it. He rubbed his face and winced at a sting on his forehead. He pulled his hand back to look it at. Blood. _'Just great.'_ He muttered inwardly.

"Cam?" he croaked.

No answer.

"Cam!" he yelled finding a strength to his voice he didn't think he'd have.

An answering groan came from the seat in front of him.

"Five more minutes." Cam mumbled.

Daniel shook his head to clear the fog but instantly regretted it. After the swimming sensation subsided he called out to Cam, "Cam, you need to see if this thing will still fly."

After a string of muttered curses, the back of Cam's head came into view above the front seat. "Alright, alright. I'm on it."

Cam flicked at switches and pressed buttons. "Yeah, we took quite a hit. Looks like all systems are functioning, some just barely, like life support. But she should still fly."

"That's good. But what about communications?"

"Yep. They're good."

"Then how about we radio Sam and Teal'c, make sure they are alright as well?"

Cam didn't answer, just hit the com link. "Sam? Teal'c? Vala? You guys alright?"

Silence.

"Sam. Teal'c. It's Cam, do you read me?"

Again silence.

A feeling of dread was settling in the pit of Daniel's stomach but he pushed it aside. It was likely their coms were just scrambled. Suddenly a flash of memory hit Daniel.

…

"_**Move. Move, move!" Cam yelled as they ran to the 302 bay. As they approached the 302's, Daniel tripped and was hauled to his feet by Cam who shoved him in the direction of the closest 302. Daniel scrambled up into the passenger seat as Cam landed in the pilot's seat. Vala had taken the backseat to Teal'c and Sam was closing the top to her own 302.**_

"_**Punch it!" Cam commanded. Daniel didn't have time to brace for the sudden acceleration and his head snapped back and plastered to the seat.**_

_**First Cam and Daniel, then Teal'c and Vala and finally Sam emerged from the crippled Deadalus class ship moment before it exploded. They were all caught in the blast.**_

Daniel remembered flashes of things. Blood trickling down his face, the squelch of the radio. Sam's voice.

'_What did she say?'_ He tried to drag the memory out of his mind, tried to focus on it. For a moment it alluded him. His eyes opened wider in terror as her words came back to him.

'_**This is Carter can anyone read?' 'If you can hear me my ship's been badly damaged and I'm in a decaying orbit around the planet. I'm going to see if I can bring engines back online.'**_

**The next communication had come moments later. **

'_**If anyone can read me, I got engines partially online running intermittently, but it's no use I'm falling fast. Estimate impact in five minutes.'**_** He remembered blackness surrounding him as he lost consciousness. The last time he heard Sam's voice she said, **_**'Mayday, mayday, mayday, I'm going in. I repeat, I'm going in. Shit!'**_

…

"Cam!" Daniel yelled.

"Jackson! I have the worst hangover ever. Keep the noise level down will ya while I get my head screwed on straight?"

"Cam, Sam crashed on the planet."

Confusion washed over Cam's features even though no one could see them. "What? How the hell do you know?"

Daniel's face was anguished, but he wouldn't give up hope that she survived the crash. "I heard her Mayday over the radio before I passed out. Her ship was damaged and she was in a decaying orbit around the planet."

Cam's heart rate sped up. He knew all too well what a crash like that will do to a person. He hit the comlink again. "Sam! Sam! Do you read me?" Silence. "Teal'c!" he tried. Nothing.

Just then another 302 appeared in front of them, Teal'c at the helm. Teal'c pantomimed that his radio was down.

"Have you seen Sam?" Cam asked.

The Jaffa shook his head.

"Jackson believes she crashed on the planet. Are you able to land?"

A nod.

"Good, We'll do a surface scan and see if we can find her." "You land near the gate and see if the crew is still there."

Teal'c signaled his approval and moved off. Cam did likewise.

…..


	3. Chapter 3

**A/Ramble: Ok this chapter seems very Sam/Teal'c shippy but it has a purpose and by the end it gets a little Sam/Daniel shippy, so hang in there ;oD**

Sam had no concept of time. How long it took her to climb to the edge of what remained of the cockpit she did not know, nor did she care. She shifted her weight and fell to the ground below, her body hitting like dead weight. Pain flooded her senses with mind-numbing ferocity. Blackness creaped into her vision threatening to claim her; it lapped at her consciousness like waves kissing the shore before finally retreating like the tide.

…

A lone figure watched helplessly in the distance. His hands were tied; there was nothing he could do but watch. He agonized over watching this happen to one so dear to the brother of his heart.

'Think' he whispered into the breeze.

A feeling of reprimand washed over the observer and he rolled his eyes like he had seen O'Neill do many times in the past. He knew he couldn't help, but he also knew she would be capable all on her own if the idea came to her in time.

…..

A sound wafted over Sam. She didn't register it as a sound to her ears but a command in her mind.

'_Think.'_ Yeah that was something she could do. She was good at thinking. But think about what?

At some point she had sat up, she did not know when or how, she had no memory of it. Her back rested against the wreckage of the 302 and she closed her eyes. _'Think'_

Sam let her mind wander a memory soon taking hold.

….

"_**Teal'c" Sam shouted as she caught up with him outside his quarters.**_

"_**Colonel Carter." He greeted. "Is there something to which I can be of assistance?"**_

"_**Well" Sam said with uneasy body language. "Actually I wanted to talk to you."**_

_**Teal'c bowed his head and opened the door to his quarters, Sam following inside. He sat silently on the bed while she paced. He said nothing, expression remaining passive while he waited for her to work up the courage to say whatever was bothering her.**_

"_**This is ridiculous"s he muttered to herself before taking a deep breath and diving right in. "Teal'c normally you are a very hard person to read and never let any of your emotions show. Yet, lately you seem, I don't know… depressed." She looked right at him. "And, I believe it has something to do with whatever happened in that 50 or 60 years you were aboard the Odyssey."**_

_**Teal'c expression remained the same but the light in his eyes changed and Sam knew she had hit the mark.**_

_**She pulled a chair from his desk and straddled it, arms over the back of it and her head resting on those arms for a minute. "I know we agreed that you wouldn't tell us anything and that must be an awful burden to carry. If anyone could do it, it'd be you." She raked a hand through her hair and sighed."But it cannot be easy to have lived with us for 50 or 60 years and pretend it never happened."**_

_**Teal'c still said nothing but allowed his expression to sadden as he bowed his head slightly as an answer in the affirmative.**_

"_**Teal'c…. I'm going to go out on a limb here and make a few educated guesses. Now, don't answer but hear me out."**_

_**Teal'c nodded and Sam took a deep breath before diving head long into her assumptions. "Cam went nuts. I buried myself in trying to figure out the problem, probably shutting everyone out while doing so. Vala finally managed to break Daniel and they were able to take comfort in each other, while you remained the glue that held us all together.**_

_**Again there was a change in the light in his eyes but nothing more.**_

"_**I'm also guessing…" her eyes left his face and fell to the floor a moment then back to his face yet not meeting his eyes with her own. "I'm guessing that eventually… I needed comfort too, and I turned to you for that comfort."**_

_**The hurt in his eyes was brief but there.**_

_**Sam sighed and buried her face in her hands. She had known what the problem was, but after talking she was still no closer to a solution. Mercifully she didn't need one.**_

"_**Sam" Teal'c said softly. The use of her first name caused her head to snap up sharply. Teal'c had never called her anything other than her rank and last name or once or twice 'Samantha Carter' but never 'Sam'.**_

_**Teal'c broke her train of thought by continuing, "While I will cherish the memories of our time together as lovers, it is the time we spent together as close friends and confidants that I mourn the loss of."**_

"_**Oh," Sam said a little stunned. Then she smiled, "Well that's something I can remedy."**_

_**Teal'c gave a small smile and a bow of his head in acceptance.**_

"_**So what do you miss the most?" she asked.**_

"_**The times we would Kel'no'ream."**_

_**Sam looked at him quizzically.**_

"_**You made great breakthroughs in many areas while in a state of Kel'no'ream. It was in fact during our last session that you solved our problem and was able to reverse time." Teal'c's face took on a sweet yet loving quality. "I miss the expression on your face as you entered another state of mind. I could almost watch the calculations going on in your mind as your face shifted with thought. The look of peace as you opened your mind was contagious and calming, and the look of sheer wonder and excitement as you uncovered a new thruth was as thrilling and refreshing as a spring storm on Chulak."**_

_**Sam blushed before finding her voice. "You're kidding?" Teal'c was the meditation master. She found it a little farfetched that she could surpass him at anything, even though she knew he would not lie to her.**_

…_**.**_

_**Over the next several months Sam and Teal'c meditated every day, even while off world. Sam made several new discoveries, both scientifically and spiritually. It came to be that she could solve almost any problem simply by meditating on it for a day or two. She also started to heal faster, slipping herself easily into a deep state of meditation when injured, concentrating on the flow of her own inner energies and encouraging her body to heal. In fact, Dr. Lam wanted to test her brain activity while in a state of Kel'no'ream after this mission.**_

…..

'_Think…' 'Meditate.' 'Heal'_

Sam cleared her mind, blocked the pain and focused inward. She concentrated on her own waning energies, redirecting them to her injuries and trying to heal her damaged body.

She could sense her injuries; severe internal bleeding, broken bones, class 3 concussion, one collapsed lung….

'_Right.'_ She knew it was pointless; no amount of meditation, no amount of medical miracle working was going to save her. Ironically the thought didn't anguish her. _'It's been a good life, a life of science, discovery, adventure and love of friends and family.'_

Sam inwardly smiled as she thought of those closest to her, those still presumably living and those who had already passed. Jack, Hammond, Janet, Vala, Teal'c, Cam, Cassie, Daniel…

'_Daniel.'_ Sam's heart warmed and she no longer felt the pain that was creeping back into her consciousness. She no longer registered the ragged breaths that came harder and shallower. All she felt was the warm glow of love; the love of her friends, her love _for_ her friends, and above all, the love she felt for a certain blue eyed Archeologist. Sam felt all encompassed by that love, grabbed onto it and followed it, releasing herself from all her Earthly ties and let the warm glow of love take her.

She physically smiled as a vision of Daniel's own brilliant smile flooded her mind. In that instant her body ceased to function, releasing her soul from its confines.

….

**Don't freak out. I didn't put a disclaimer of Major character death in the summary because I wanted it to be shocking. (I personally HATE major character death fics.) Remember not all is as it seems!**


	4. Chapter 4

Cam and Daniel set their own damaged 302 several yards away from the wreckage. The hearts of both clenched and rose to their throats at the carnage before them. Feet frozen their eyes scanned for signs of life.

The blood drained from their faces as they looked upon the broken body of Colonel Samantha Carter propped up against the remains of her craft. Bones were obviously broken, her face lacerated and bloodied, a trickle of blood oozed from the corner of her mouth.

Then she smiled.

"She's alive" Daniel yelled in a mixture of panic and relief. He and Cam immediately broke into a dead run.

But, before they could get more than a few feet there was a brilliant white flash and an explosion that knocked them off of their feet.

Daniel was the first on his feet. "Sam!" he screamed, his voice carrying all the terrifying emotions he was feeling. He started to run again toward the raging inferno.

"Jackson!" Cam yelled after him.

Daniel didn't seem to care as he ran forward trying to shield his face with his hands and arms.

Cam caught up and grabbed his arm, trying to drag him back.

Daniel shoved him off and moved forward. "Sam!" his eyes were wide with terror and his voice already ragged from grief and denial.

Suddenly he was tackled from behind, his face planting in the hot soil.

Daniel and Cam scuffled on the ground, the searing heat burning their skin.

Cam finally pinned Daniel face down. He struggled but Cam held him firm.

"She's gone Jackson!" He yelled. The fight left Daniel and he sobbed. Grieved and heartbroken his face was red with anguish as he fell apart.

"She's gone." Cam repeated in a choked whisper. With his face next to Daniel's he grieved for his friend.

….

Teal'c and Vala landed near the gate relieved to see the crew milling about.

Forty five minutes later Cam and Daniel's 302 came into view.

"Well it's about time." Vala huffed.

"If Colonel Carter was injured it would have taken some time to move her." Teal'c responded.

Vala bobbed her head. "True, but she better not have more than a small bump on the head because we have a spa date when we get back to Earth."

The Stargate activated moments before the 302 touched down. The first of the crew returned home. The medical personnel would wait around to treat any injuries before heading through.

Vala ran over to the 302 to greet the rest of her team, Teal'c followed at a more sedate pace.

…..

Ruddy faced and haggard, Cam and Daniel climbed down from the 302, their backs momentarily to the two people they weren't yet ready to face.

"Where's Sam? Didn't you find her?" Vala asked.

When the two men turned around Teal'c froze in his tracks, his mouth hung slightly open shock. The answer was clearly written on Cam and Daniel's faces. Vala wasn't stupid, but she refused to believe what she saw there.

"Where's Sam?" she repeated with a horrified edge to her voice.

"She's gone Vala." Cam replied. He couldn't believe it himself. It was all like a nightmare to the likes he hadn't had since his own 302 crashed in the Antarctic. He prayed he would wake up drenched in a cold sweat, but he knew in his heart that would never be the case.

"No. You have to go back for her. You have to go get her." Tears were brimming in her eyes.

Cam let out a shuddered sigh. "There's nothing left to go back for Vala."

"No!" she wailed shoving him. "You have to go get her, you can't just leave her! If you won't I will." She started to scramble into the 302 but Daniel pulled her off.

"Leave me alone!" she thrashed, but Daniel pulled her to him and held her tight until she stilled, finally letting her tears fall.

…

At the base of the gate a P-90 with stock extended stood on end. Sam's Kevlar rested on top; a pair of boots at its base and charred, slightly melted dog tags, which had miraculously been recovered at the crash scene, dangled.

The ceremony was strained. No one was able to make it through their speech without breaking down. Even the well seasoned General O'Neill gave up, threw his papers down on the podium and knelt before her gear and silently cried before gathering enough strength to stand and salute the shrine. After he fled the room taps was played and everyone filed out; tears in the eyes of every man, woman and otherwise stoic Jaffa.

All but Daniel, who approached the shrine silently. He still hadn't made his peace, still hadn't said any words to the open air meant for her, he hadn't yet grieved. Much to the dismay at everyone on base, Daniel had not written a speech, had not uttered one word about his fallen teammate. Instead he sat silently in her lab blank faced and soulless for the last two days while the wreckage was combed and the ceremony planned.

He knelt down and removed one of the tags from her chain. He pulled off his tie and pulled out his own from under his dress shirt. Normally he would have taken them off after the last mission but he hadn't. He undid the clasp and added her tag to it. He held it up and ran his thumb over the raised letters.

Carter

Samantha, NMN

USAF

650-55-4321

O Pos

No Rel Pref

He tucked them under his shirt and walked back down the ramp.

…

Standing in the control room staring at the gate, Daniel as soon joined by Teal'c, Vala, Cam, Jack and General Landry. No one said a word, just looked at each other in silent confirmation. Daniel dialed the address to Chulak, the designation of her second mission.

The seventh chevron locked and the gate opened, the unstable vortex disintegrating the shrine before it, unofficially burying their dear friend, teammate, and savior of Earth.

…..

**A/N: I couldn't find a middle name for Sam so I went with hub's suggestion of NMN or No Middle Name. The SS# is made up, so my apologies if it's yours ;oD**


	5. Chapter 5

She was everywhere at once, in a neighboring galaxy watching the birth of a star, on earth witnessing the death of an elderly woman, the birth of a screaming baby boy a world away on P3X-787. There were so many things she was witnessing that made her realize just how small one life was amongst all… _this_. Yet, even one life didn't seem any less important. There was so much for her to learn, new laws of physics to uncover, so many wonders to behold. If only she could get the fragments of her being pulled back into one whole piece she could begin. '_Was transition to ascension always this hard?'_

'_No.'_ came her answer. _'For you are not truly ascended. There are many planes of existence, ascension being one of them. You may yet achieve full enlightenment, we do not know.'_

'_Who are you?'_ she wanted to ask but she heard a familiar name being screamed from somewhere out in the cosmos by a familiar voice and she was drawn to it. No longer was her essence scattered about among the cosmos, but pulled together as if by some unknown force.

…..

It was late at night when he fell into a fitful sleep. In his dream he saw Sam, sitting broken against her craft. She smiled.

'_Daniel'_

It was like a whisper on the wind.

He saw the explosion in slow motion; Sam's smile shone like the sun in the sky, it lit her face and despite her haggard appearance she was beautiful. She seemed serene and at peace.

There was a brilliant white flash and her body disappeared, a glow arising from that space. It lingered a moment then disappeared. A split second later the 302 exploded.

He tried to fight his way through the acrid smoke but it was like wading through water, then wading waist deep through sand. Eventually the smoke prevented him from going any further. As he tried to go back, to maneuver around it, the smoke seemed to trap him, to crush him. Tendrils of smoke wrapped around hid him, squeezing the life out of him until it seeped into his nostrils and mouth. The smoke was like an arm reaching down his throat, choking him until it forcefully ripped a scream from his throat.

"Saaaaaaaaammm!"

….

Daniel woke gasping for breath. He'd had a version of the same dream for the past 3 nights, always with one constant factor, Sam smiled, said his name and then… then ascended? As far as he knew, Oma was the only one to help those on the lower planes ascend and she was locked in an eternal struggle with Anubis. How could she have ascended? He thought maybe it was just a dream; that his mind was trying to find some solace with losing his best friend, his secret crush, and the love he never thought he'd find again. Why could he never save the women he loved when he himself had cheated death more times than the cosmos could possibly allow?

There was an empty, hollow place in his chest where Sam used to reside. For the first time since Cam pinned him to the ground, he grieved. Hot tears began to stream down his face, his chest tightened and he buried his face into the pillows. "Sam," he cried, "God, Sam."

…

She had been pulled to him with no idea how or why. He slept fitfully; his pillows beneath him tear stained.

Her being somehow now whole, she concentrated and felt as if she was solidifying. Sam sat on the edge of the bed and _brushed_ back his hair, her hand passing through it yet ruffling it like a gust of wind. "Oh Daniel." She said her voice and ethereal whisper. She knew how hard it was to lose a teammate. Of course, when he had died she also lost the love of her life.

Sam laid her hand on the back of his neck and tried to convey to him that she was alright, that she was happy and on a new and exciting journey. It didn't quite go as planned. Instead, she was pulled into his dream state.

…

Daniel's dream shifted. He was no longer battling against the heat of the flames engulfing Sam's 302. He was now in the tent he had inhabited on Vis Uban. He wore the blue robes of a Nomad, so similar in design to the desert robes he had long ago become accustomed. The furnishings were the same and outside he could hear people talking. 'Jim' was complaining about his stubbornness.

The tent flap pulled back and he knew that in reality Sam would walk in, P-90 dangling from her tac vest, her blue eyes would rake over him and he would feel… he would feel like he belonged for the first time in his memory, like a jigsaw piece falling into place. He would ask if there was anything between them, because he was so sure. She sparked such powerful feelings within him.

Much to his disbelief she would say they were only friends, the best of friends. Still, he had a gut feeling she was worth it and chose to go home with her.

..

The tent flap pulled back and just like before Sam entered, only this time she was missing her BDU's and P-90. Instead, she was dressed in an off white tunic top and matching slacks, her short hair now long, but it was the same Sam none the less.

She said nothing, just looked at him quizzically, as if to puzzle out just why she was there.

"Sam," he breathed. There she was; not bloodied, broken, and bruised leaning against wreckage, not being engulfed by flames, but whole.

Sam's attention had drifted but refocused on him at the sound of her name.

"Huh, wonder how I ended up here?"

She smiled as she turned taking in her surroundings. She had 'that' look that drew his attention to her the first time he saw her geeking out over the DHD on Abydos. Had he not been so in love with his wife, he would have fallen for her right there. In retrospect he wasn't so sure he hadn't.

Sam looked back at him and all he could do was stare.

Finally snapping out of his trance he broke the silence with a mustered musing. "I'm dreaming. I must be dreaming."

Sam pursed her lips a moment. "I'm not sure if you're dreaming or what this is." She said gesturing to their surroundings. "There's so much for me to learn."

"You're dead." He continued. "We buried an empty casket two days ago next to Jacob."

"Well, there's dead and then there's sort-of-dead." She grinned.

"Sort of dead?" he asked raising his eyebrows and crossing his arms.

"I don't exactly know what I am, only not dead in a sense. I have no physical body but I'm not truly ascended either, I just… _am_, for a lack of better explanation."

Hope flared in his chest and he momentarily brightened. "Can you descend, come back?"

Sam's brow furrowed. "I don't know, I don't think so. But even if I could I wouldn't."

Daniel's expression hardened. "Why?

"Because, there's so much for me here. So much to explore, so much to learn."

"We need you with us Sam."

"No you don't." Sam expression turned mournful. "Face it Daniel, nothing's been the same since the General left. We all went our separate ways and yes we got back together to take care of the Ori but it still wasn't the same as before, we all lost something. The Ori are now dead, all you have left to do is take care of the followers."

Daniel dropped his head and sighed. Things hadn't been the same after Jack left. Teal's had gone off to build the Jaffa free nation. Sam wanting to help Cassie and God knows what else had moved to Nevada, and he… well he had finally gotten his transfer to Atlantis. He was excited to go because being in another galaxy and uncovering new things just might take away some of his pain. Did they all feel the same pain of the team breaking up? All he knew is that when Sam left for Nevada he discovered a new type of pain, one that he hadn't felt since he laid Sha're's ghost to rest years before. It was then he realized he wasn't simply attracted to her or simply best friends, she was his everything. While they didn't have a physical relationship, the emotional one they shared was a pretty close substitute for a long and happy relationship. He felt unbelievably crushed when she moved. That feeling was only surpassed by her death days before.

She was right though, things hadn't been the same, he kept her at arm's length, too afraid to get that close again and he understood what she was saying. That didn't mean he had to like it or agree.

"No, things weren't the same, but that doesn't make you any less needed now."

"That's where you're wrong."

Sam closed the few paces between them and drew him into a hug. She felt so real in his arms.

"You'll be fine Daniel. It'll probably help knowing I'm not completely gone."

"I doubt it." He mumbled into her hair. Pulling back he asked, "Did it help you?"

Sam lowered her eyes. Even without having a physical form she still choked up at the thought of his death. "No, not really. I had so much hurt and so much grief, you might as well have been dead-dead." She looked back up at him and placed her hand gently on his cheek. "You'll be fine though. Don't forget to give Rodney all my research and Cassie pretty much everything else." She let her hand drop and took a step back before remembering, "Oh, and on my computer there's a locked file. Password is fishing, there's some files in there for you all and a contact for my will."

"Sam." Daniel choked. "I-I'm not ready to do that."

She smiled. "You will be, just make sure it's relatively soon ok?" He nodded. "Goodbye Daniel."

He caught her hand as she turned to leave. "Stay."

"Daniel I can't."

"Just… just for the night. I haven't had anything resembling a night's sleep since I watched your 302 explode with you sitting against it."

Sam's heart broke just a little at that. She never knew anyone had seen her die. The fact had never really crossed her mind. She remembered what it was like to watch Daniel die and all of the nightmare ridden nights that even the best drugs in Janet's arsenal couldn't dull.

"Alright." She said and sat down on the cushions scattered on the floor.

After a moment Daniel did likewise and they struck up a happier conversation that lasted most of the night. They talked; they talked like they hadn't in years. In death she somehow regained her best friend, the way it was years ago, the way it should be.

….

"I do need to go now. REM only sleep isn't good for you, you need to sleep deeply too."

He didn't want her to leave, in fact he surmised he could stay here forever, talking to her the way they used to. But he knew she was right and didn't want to seem too needy or clingy.

"Alright, but only if you promise to visit again."

She smiled one of those supernova smiles of hers, the kind that lit up her whole face where her eyes would sparkle like multifaceted jewels. "If I can. I'm not sure the other's will allow it, you know how that goes."

He smiled back at her. "I do, but I think, like me, you'll have a hard time following the rules."

"Probably." She winked at him.

They stood and embraced again before Sam faded away.

….

She was again sitting on his bed. She bent down and kissed his cheek that he felt only as a ghost like tingle.

"I'll see you again." She said in her ethereal sounding voice. "I promise."

Daniel was right. She was going to have a hard time following the rules and staying away.

As if to prove the point she broke the first rule, interfering with those on lower planes. She disabled his alarm clock and phones. He needed to sleep in, he deserved it and sure as hell had earned it.

….

The invisible presence nearby just shook his head. Yes, she _was_ going to be a handful.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Short Chapter, but it kind of needed to be on its own. The rest I had written didn't seem to fit in this chapter so will become a chapter of its own as well. Life is busy, been picking up extra shifts in the ER, so I cannot say when I'll be uploading again. Could be in an hour or a month, I do not know. But thanks to those who are sticking with the story despite the lack of updates!**

…**..**

"Yo, Jackson!" Cam yelled with his head stuck into Daniel's apartment. After receiving no reply from incessant knocking, he had opened the door with his spare key. "You in there, or have you been abducted by aliens again." Daniel's neighbors would probably think he's crazy or joking, but in their line of work, alien abduction was a real possibility. After receiving no reply, he walked into the apartment leaving the door only slightly ajar behind him and drawing his side arm from under his jacket.

Keeping the barrel ready yet pointed slightly downward, Cam cautiously moved about the apartment keeping a vigilant eye on nooks and crannies he knew would make good hiding places. After checking every open space, he had only the bathroom and Daniel's bedroom left. Cam snapped the door to his room open, bringing his weapon to the ready.

Daniel lay face down on his bed unmoving. Cam trained his weapon toward the few places an intruder could hide and then toward the door as he backed up to check Daniel's pulse. Keeping his gun trained on the door he reached his other hand toward the immobile man on the bed. He pressed his fingers into the pliable skin above Daniel's carotid artery feeling a nice strong beat against his fingers seconds before he was suddenly grabbed and hurled over the bed, landing on the floor with all the air in his lungs making a hasty escape. Daniel landed on him a moment later with his forearm press against Cam´s throat for a moment before he recognized the blurry figure before him.

"Mitchell?" He asked incredulously.

"Yeah" Cam managed to grunt. Daniel rolled off of him allowing much needed air to enter his lungs.

Daniel sat on the edge of his bed, searching for something on his night stand as Cam caught his breath and sat up.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Daniel asked while fishing around for his glasses.

"Well," Cam started while coming to his feet and looking around, "when you didn't show up for work we got a little worried about alien abductions, experiments turning you into a 15 year old, that kinda thing. But it seems as as if you just over slept."

"What are you talking about, it's only..."Daniel looked at t the clock on his bed stand, noting the lack of time. "Huh, that's odd" he said more to himself than to Cam.

"Yeah, you didn't answer either of your phone's either."

Daniel picked the cordless phone from its jack and turned it on noting the lack of dial tone. "Huh?" He again muttered, replacing the cordless and picking up his cell and attempted to turn it on to no avail.

...

Cam wandered around the rest of the apartment while Daniel got dressed.

Daniel came out of his room, shoes in hand and sat on the couch to put them on.

"It seems as though whatever interfered with your phones and alarm clock was isolated to just those items, because your t.v., computers, radio and all other electronics work. We'll get a team in here to see if they can pick up any strange readings." Cam looked at Daniel. "Are you sure you're not craving fruitloops or PlayStation?"

Daniel looked at Cam with his brow wrinkled partly in confusion and part in annoyance. "Uhhh, no. Why?"

"Because I swear you look younger, and it would explain the weird goings on in your bed room."

"Well as far as looking younger, it could just be a peaceful nights sleep for a change. As for the other thing, I have no idea what's going on." With that he pulled the last of his laces tight and stood, grabbing his jacket off the back of the couch.

"Well, I still want to get a team in here to see if there's anything wonky going on."

"Wonky?"

Cam just grinned and opened the door, exited and started down the hall.

As unlikely as it should be, Daniel did get the strange feeling of being watched. He looked back into his apartment for any sign of anything abnormal. Half way through a quick scan of his apartment he thought he saw a shimmer. His phone coming back to life distracted him a moment and when he looked back it was gone.

'_Must have been my imagination._' He thought.

"Jackson! You coming?" Cam yelled from down the hall.

"Yeah." He shut the door and locked it. As he turned to leave, a faint and familiar giggle hit his ears. He spun around, but despite finding nothing, smiled, turned and hurried down the hall. For the first time since losing Sam, the thought of her didn't feel as though his insides were being prodded with a Gould torture device. In a way he felt almost cheery, her laughter always did bring a feeling akin to a warm spring day, melting away the blues and turning his mood around.

….


	7. Chapter 7

It was 2am. The day had been busy, even by his standards. He had been loaned out to SG-12 to check out some ruins that contained references to the lost "Ark of the Covenant." To find a Judeo-Christian reference on a planet that had been dominated by the Gould for over 3,000 years had been beyond remarkable, it had been downright amazing. When he returned to earth Cam made some comment in reference to him "being brighter than times square during New Years." it had been a nice change, the first time off world since Sam had died. But it seemed to be more than that, something... something he couldn't place that seemed responsible for his good mood.

He had spent the rest of the day, night and part of the early morning hours completely lost and pouring over charcoal rubbings, video and notes he had taken during his time off world. Though his mind was still a whirr, he was fatigued, physically and mentally wiped. He took his glasses off and scrubbed his hands over his face and shook his head to try and wake himself. His coffee now looked to be a cold draught of sludge that threatened to turn into a science experiment if not soon emptied. The charcoal rubbing on his left caught his eye and he looked at it a moment, then laid his head on the table to look at it at an angle. A pattern started to appear across the page but it barely registered in his conscious mind as it took the position he was in as permission to take a nap. His eyes closed on their own accord. Moments later images started flashing through his mind.

…

Sam was laughing at something Vala had said. Her face was wreathed in sun light, happiness lit her features, her mirth lighting her eyes like priceless gems and his breath caught in his chest at the sight. For moments he found himself unable to either breathe or look away, and when her face turned toward his with that dazzling smile fully in place, he was pretty sure his heart stopped. Then the moment changed and she was sitting against the wreck of her 302 broken and bruised, dying, yet still able to pull off one last smile. His heart began to race, his chest felt constricted in fear, and perspiration broke out all over his body as panic took a full hold of him. Daniel started to struggle in his sleep, knocking his glasses and cold coffee to the floor. Amazingly the cup did not break.

'_Dream of something happy.' _An ethereal voice whispered into his ear. His hair ruffled and his movements stilled, face now calm he slipped into a memory turned dream.

She had things to do, miracles to witness, but all that could be put on hold for a moment while she found some way to get a fresh cup of coffee into him. The translation he was working on was important though even she knew not why.

….

"Daniel, are you coming in?" Sam asked, with a playful smile plastered to her face even as she quite unsteadily tried to balance/hop on one foot while trying to pull the boot off the other.

"Maybe in a little bit." And he would. He loved when they found a nice deserted, perfect planet with some sort of scientific significance with the most inviting turquoise lake to camp next to. There were things for him to do, but nothing to suck in his complete attention; this gave him time to actually appreciate a planet for a change.

The day was slowly waning; the first vestiges of a sunset were starting to show across the horizon. With the slow spin of this particular planet, sunset would go on for hours, but that didn't stop the team from calling it a 'day' when the sun started to set. For an hour as the sun scattered the sky in only deep purple streaks, he and Cam would get a funny sort of headache, something to do with the planets minerals and position to its sun and moon and… magnets? He wasn't really sure, but it seemed to make Sam and Vala giddy, even Teal'c would seem more jovial; something about naquadah in their blood. It was for this reason SG-1 was the only ones willing to do the research without being 'voluntold'. Daniel and Cam would deal with the hour long headache in order to protect their teammates.

Right now he'd just sit back, pretend to read his book and take in the view, namely the view of a stunning Lieutenant Colonel unbuttoning her BDU blouse and tossing it carelessly next to him. After the belt buckle had been released, the baggy pants fell effortlessly off her frame.

He had seen her in bikini's much more revealing than the black tank top and matching boyshort underwear she now wore, but it was still his favorite. There was something about that particular ensemble that just exuded a feel of comfort as well as attraction. She was comfortable enough with the team to not be shy about being in just her underwear, and attractive as hell in the form hugging fabric and defined body. Even the slight farmer's tan seemed to do her justice.

He let her wade waist deep into the water before stripping off himself. Once waist deep himself, she smiled at him and began to count to three. Usually at three, they'd dive in, let the shock of the water wake them up and start racing to some imaginary point out in the open water. Sam always won. He was a decent swimmer but spent most of his life in deserts. Every once in a while on a day like today, she'd get from one to two and he'd tackle her and drag her under with him.

As they wrestled he got the funny feeling he was being watched, and not just by the three remaining teammates stripping off on the beach but by someone or something else. Yet, the feeling did not unsettle him. Besides, at the moment he was being held underwater by Sam, or at least was, until he got in a good enough position to get under her and lift her out of the water with her sitting on his shoulders. Vala had already roped Cam into carrying her and the pair advanced on Daniel and Sam to let the girls wrestle it out on top as the boys bantered each other and attempted to keep the wiggling females securely on their shoulders.

…

Sam floated down corridors and through a solid door to a flight of stairs. As she moved up them she realized she probably could have just gone through the floors or teleported herself there. _'Old habits die hard I suppose'_ she thought. Just before the door to the Commissary level, a sudden flashback came to her mind.

**She hadn't been at the command even a year yet, but it still felt like home. She was growing closer and closer to her team, still staying a bit distant with her CO (especially after that whole turning into a caveman and trying to have her way with him thing), like she should, but spent many hours in conversation with Teal'c or Daniel, mostly Daniel. She loved picking his brain. He was as brilliant as her wildest dreams, but he was more. He had so many complex and compassionate levels to him. She was pretty sure she had never met such a person in her life. At times it was easy to forget he was married and maybe she'd get a little flirty, but just a little, and there would always be something to remind her that Daniel was off limits in the romance department. Despite that he was proving to be an amazing friend, real 'best friend' material. She had always gotten along with guys better than gals anyway.**

**As she was analyzing all of this she reached the door and as she was about to pull it open the object of her thoughts came barreling through; they instantly collided.**

**He grabbed onto her and held her close as they both awkwardly tried to keep the both of them from a hard tumble down the stairs. After regaining their precarious balance on the small landing he started uttering a string of "I'm so sorry" and "It's my fault, I wasn't watching where I was going." Sam said nothing in return, she was more aware of the fact that he was still holding her to him, their bodies flush against each other and how nice it actually was. His eyes were partially hidden behind glasses and a curtain of brown hair, which just looked so soft she had to use every military trick she knew not to lose control and run her hands through it. And those eyes; blue wells that were bottomless portals into his soul. Daniel did not hide, but let his nature show in everything he did, yet those eyes…**

**After a moment he seemed to realize that she wasn't speaking, or moving, but just staring at him. She must have caught him off guard because she saw the recognition in his eyes of their current position, his arms still wrapped solidly around her and he blushed and started to move, another apology forming on his lips, until he really looked at her. For a moment they were locked in a gaze, a gaze of curiosity, lust and building passion. And when his eyes flicked to her lips, she almost closed the small distance between his lips and hers.**

**Unfortunately, the break in eye contact also seemed to break the spell as he suddenly turned scarlet, licked his lips and said "Well, it was nice running into you." With what could only be called a slightly flirtatious smile.**

**She smiled back at him, "Anytime, the pleasure's all mine."**

**Another small moment passed before he finally moved to disengage himself from her and moved to go. "I'll see you at the briefing." He said with a goofy smile still plastered to his face.**

Sam shook off the memory, and entered the commissary, again she was overwhelmed with memories, memories of many meals shared with her friends and colleagues, or dinner time arguments, and breakfast debates; too many shared coffee's at 2am, or maybe not enough.

Mentally sighing and realizing that this base was acting like a tether to her soul and that she needed to get away from here if she was going to feel free of the life she left behind, she set out to complete her mission, her final mission she decided, finding Daniel coffee.

She spotted Vala flirting with the Marines and made her way over. Now, to figure out how to communicate with her. _'Shouldn't be hard.' _ She thought. _'I can enter Daniel's mind and I'm pretty sure he even heard me laugh.'_

"Vala, Daniel needs coffee, the good stuff. There's some in my office, use my machine."

Vala kept on talking to the Marines, adjusting her posture to increasingly more provocative poses and once even flipping her hair over her shoulder.

"Vala!" Sam tried yelling to no avail. She tried to touch her, but her hand passed right through her with not so much as a goose bump.

After a few moments she was getting quite frustrated. Luckily the Marine and Vala parted ways and Vala's attention was now turned inward rather than outward as she grabbed a slice of pie. Sam concentrated and let her mind drift to Vala, trying to enter her subconciousness. It was so much easier with Daniel, maybe because he was asleep whenever she tried, or maybe it's because he was a former ascended. Either way, she was about to give up when suddenly Vala's head shot up and looked around.

"Coffee, the good stuff in my lab, Sam's lab. Make some for Daniel, he needs it."

Sam put her all into trying to make the thought stick, and then pulled back to watch and see if she had made any sort of impression at all.

Vala continued to look around a moment more, gooseflesh now prominent on her creamy skin. She suddenly placed the pie back and turned around. After a moment's hesitation, she gave a slight shake of the head and a shiver and walked toward the commissary doors, rubbing her arms against a sudden chill as she went.

Sam followed Vala to her old lab. It still looked the same as she left it. As she watched Vala rummage through her cupboards and grin as she found the coffee, Sam knew she had done what she had sent out to do.

Smiling she willed herself to leave the mountain, to once again dance among the cosmos, but found herself suddenly by Daniel's side, his sleeping form seemingly happy and serene.

Confused but distracted, she bent down and whispered to him. "Vala's bringing you coffee. Try to find the key to translating that rubbing, I don't know why but it's important."

Sam couldn't help but reach out to touch his face. Once she did, she was once again drawn into his dream-state. Instead of interfering, she decided to observe for a while.

…..

In the end, Sam and Daniel ended up toppling over into the water. Their only consolation was the fact they had soaked their opponents, Cam who as yet hadn't been wet from the waist up and Vala whose toes had only touched the water. The water wasn't cold but it was cool.

After dinner, Daniel had picked a spot under a tree to rest and read his book by flashlight. Night was approaching slowly but surely and soon he'd have a headache, but for the moment he was content to sit in the warm breeze and read.

Just as the first vestiges of a headache were creeping upon him, Sam wandered over and sat next to him. He didn't have to look to know she was smiling and already a little jazzed up. For once he wished he too had naquadah in his system so he could enjoy the caffeine like buzz rather than the headache that was starting to pull at his temples. He lowered the book and rubbed his temples for a moment, fruitlessly trying to ward the headache off.

"Headache coming on?" Sam inquired.

"Yeah." Wow even his voice was starting to sound miserable.

"I appreciate you and Cam's dedication in coming here with us, but really, like I said before we'll be fine, why don't you two head back?"

"No, like we told you, the moment we leave something will go wrong and we'll be stuck on opposite sides of the gate. Besides, the hour long headache is worth it to relax on a planet like this." He tried offering her a grin but was sure it came out as a grimace as a sharp pain streaked from one temple to the other.

Sam winced in sympathy before pulling the book and flashlight out of his lap. "Come here." She said. "Put your head in my lap and relax, I'll read to you." He had read to her many times in the past, she figured it was high time that she read to him as well.

"It's in Latin." He pointed out.

"I'm sure even with my butchered pronunciation I'm sure you'll be able to follow along."

With that Daniel shrugged his shoulders and repositioned himself so his head was snuggly in Sam's lap and he was looking up at her beautiful face, the light from the flash light highlighting parts of it in an almost comical way at times.

Sam began to read and Daniel grinned, her accent was terrible, she was applying English rules to another language, stressing the wrong consonants, pronouncing silent letters, but he still understood.

After a page or two she stopped. "Daniel?"

"Hmmn?"

"I thought earlier you told me this was research?"

"Mmhmm." His eyes were closed and he was feigning sleepiness when in all reality, aside from his headache, he was very much aware of his surroundings and just how _**nice**_ this was.

Sam grinned before saying, "It sounds more like a romance novel to me."

"That's just the flow of the Latin, even a dictionary would sound like that." He said evenly.

"Uh huh." Sam said with mirth evident in her voice. "I'm pretty sure this translates to '_she hungered for him like she had no other._' Not exactly a technical manual now is it?"

"What?" Daniel said with more than a little surprise in his voice.

Sam giggled a little, "_Illa__esurivit__enim__eum, quasi__non habebat__altera.__"_ "she hungered for him like no other, or it could be_ she stalked him like no other_, but given the context of the previous page, I'm pretty sure I was right the first time."

Daniel sat up and faced her. "Since when do you speak Latin?"

"Paulo ultra annum an semissem," (For just over a year and a half), she said in a terrible accent.

"Learned on your own huh?" She should have asked him for help, maybe then she'd have a shred of a decent accent, but he was impressed none the less.

"No, actually." She seemed a little unsure about proceeding, but eventually said, "Jack taught me."

"Jack?" Daniel repeated obviously surprised.

"Yeah." She chewed on her lip a moment then sat the book down and drove the end of the flashlight into the sand. "We tried." She seemed to be confessing something as she started to doodle equations in the sand.

Daniel for his part remained silent, waiting for her to come out of her shell. They hadn't done this in a long time, talked like best friends and confidants. There had been a chasm between them since Cam had 'gotten the band back together.' Maybe now they could start to remedy that.

Sam continued, "We tried to have a relationship, you know, after I left for Nevada. We spent a lot of time together, well, as much as possible with our jobs on opposite coasts that is. We had a hard time finding things we both enjoyed doing. So one day he offered to do something 'brainy' and teach me Latin." She smiled a bit, "I'll have to say I was impressed and I did enjoy it, even though it was obvious it was tedious for him. So I tried something 'boring' and attempted fishing, going to hockey games and stuff like that." Sam paused for a moment then sighed. "In the end, we just couldn't find enough in common outside of work to support a relationship. Not to mention we're both still work-a-holics." After another long pause she said. "We had to try though, and it ended amicably and mutually."

Daniel reached out and took the hand that was still doodling in the sand. "I'm sorry it didn't work out." He said honestly. Sam and Jack both deserved some happiness.

Sam just shrugged, and then tensed as the light in her eyes changed to one on guard. A moment later she was tackled by Vala and they both went rolling toward the water's edge.

Daniel could barely make out their forms in the darkness, but heard their laughter and Sam's failed attempt at using a scornful voice when she yelled "Vala! What are you? Three?"

…..

"I still can't believe she tackled me."

Daniel looked to his left and smiled at Sam. She was clothed in white and her hair was long, and it did not seem strange that she was sitting here next to him watching herself wrestle in the dark with Vala.

"Well, you got her back." He said. "You did dump her into the lake, which became infested with eels after dark."

She smiled. "You need coffee Daniel."

Daniel wrinkled his nose and gave a slight shake of the head. "That the last thing I want right now. Besides, the headache will go away soon."

"No, you need to look at that translation again. Wake up and smell the coffee Daniel."

"I don't want to." He mumbled.

"Daniel? Daniel?" Sam's voice had changed and her face morphed into a blurry blob.

"Sam?" he said confused.

"No Daniel, it's me." Came Vala's voice.

After blinking a few times, the blurriness left his eyes and he lifted his head off his desk, charcoal from his rubbing left imprints of runes on his cheeks.

He looked around for his glasses and Vala picked them up from the floor and handed them to him.

"Vala? What are you doing here?"

Vala sat on the edge of his desk and handed him the cup of coffee in her hands.

"Well, that's the most curious thing. I was in the commissary chatting with a few Marines that just got back from some planet or another, when I got an urge to bring you coffee."

Daniel smiled and his eyes became playful, "Really? Thinking about my coffee needs at 3 in the morning?" He took a sip then looked down at the cup of coffee in his hands and then glaringly back at Vala. "Vala, where did you get this coffee?" He demanded.

"See that's another odd thing, I got it from Sam's office. And not by choice." Her face twisted into one of worry. "I've been avoiding that whole wing since… well since. But I just _had_ to make your coffee there, it's like I knew you needed the good stuff Sam always kept around." At the look on Daniels face she said, "Daniel what's wrong?"

Daniel ignored her and started looking around.

"Daniel? What are you looking for?"

"Sam. She's here."

"Daniel, Sam's…. Sam's dead." She grabbed his arm turning his attention toward her. "You're as painfully aware of that as I am." She said in an almost whisper.

"I know. She's gone, but not gone gone."

"Daniel you're not making any sense."

"I think she ascended, or at least partially ascended." He said speaking in the excited tone he used when describing a civilization or artifact.

"How do you know?" She asked.

"I've been dreaming it. The crash, the nightmares. Right before the 302 explodes there's a brilliant white flash, it must be her ascending. Then there are the dreams, she's with me, talking like we used to long ago. She's experiencing wonders we can't even imagine in her current form!" There was now a light in his eyes, a hope, an understanding, something to hold on to.

A sad look came over Vala. "Daniel, I want her back as much as you do, but I think it's just wishful thinking. You're the only one who can come back from the dead at will." At his look she added. "If she was ascended, she would have come back to us Daniel, I know she would."

"She's not fully ascended, that's why she can't come back."

Daniel…" Vala started but he cut her off, a slightly angry edge to his voice.

"Then why did you bring me coffee at 3 am, something only Sam used to do, from her own stash even! And how do you explain what went on in my apartment? The teams found nothing unusual, but everything went just right for me to sleep in, to rest for a change."

"I don't know Daniel." Vala now sounded defeated and exhausted. "But you're not the only one with sleep troubles, which is why I'm up, bringing you coffee at 3 am. I think we both just need some sleep." With that she turned and left, but not before Daniel saw tears brimming in her eyes.

Daniel took another sip of the rich roast. It was just what he needed too. "Thank you Sam." He said to the empty room.


End file.
